


waking eyes, waking ties

by ariphyll



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Sleeping Beauty AU, Zine piece
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2018-10-09
Packaged: 2019-07-28 19:24:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16248230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariphyll/pseuds/ariphyll
Summary: Every fairy tale has a bit of truth hidden inside, doesn't it?





	waking eyes, waking ties

**Author's Note:**

> We can finally post our works for the [ever after promptis zine](https://everafterzine.tumblr.com/)! This was so so fun to work on, and I'm still so honored to have worked on this incredible zine with so many other talented artists and writers :)
> 
> Follow me on [tumblr](https://ariphyll.tumblr.com/) or my more personal [twitter](https://twitter.com/ariphyll)!

When Prompto was small he often read stories about fantastical princes and golden knights living in faraway lands. As he got older and started to travel, he continued to hear tales spun by drunk men in taverns but it was rare he ever heard of princes in the town’s _folklore._ Most stories were all exceptionally fake but, as Prompto stared up at the forlorn tower before him he was starting to wonder if the tales were right.

_‘A prince who was cursed into a endless sleep, residing only to be awakened by the kiss of a soulmate...’_

Prompto shook his head, trying to stuff those ideas away. He wasn’t some idyllic kid anymore - there was clearly another reason for this overgrown, mossy tower to be out here in the middle of the woods with nothing else around. Maybe it was just….a project an architect gave up early on? Yeah, that made sense.

Still, Prompto couldn't help his curiosity as he glanced at the wooden door to the tower. Cobwebs ran up the side of it’s frame but he could tell that it was cracked open to the inside. A little… peak… wouldn’t hurt, would it?

Grinning to himself, Prompto hurried up the crumbling stone steps to sneak inside. It was… well, dark for starters. Besides the sunlight coming in from the door there was no other light sources he could see. Not only that, but it was also... cool inside. Less so as an adjective for the place, and more so the _temperature_. It wasn’t freezing but it held a harsher bite than how it felt outside. Prompto rubbed at his arm to try and soothe the goosebumps there as he walked through the tower.

It was, to be honest, kind of empty. There was a table off to his right that had chairs scattered around it, but it was devoid of any kind of items. There were no personal markings and considering the thick dust Prompto could almost choke on in the air, this place seemed _abandoned_.

Well so much for this place holding an awesome secret inside. Prompto turned to leave with a disappointed huff before pausing, catching the sight of some stone steps leading higher up. Ohoh, what do we have here? A smile tugged at his lips as he started his ascent - time to see what this tower was _actually_ hiding. He was a fool in the first place for thinking someone would place their treasure on the ground floor.

Prompto trailed his hand across the wall as he traveled up, marbled stone leaving his fingers chilled from where they touched. The farther he climbed however, the higher his apprehension rose. Apprehension and _desire_ \- as if something was calling out to him. It was a mixed feeling to have; his rational mind urging him to leave while a deeper part of him was dragging him forward.

Prompto tried to push those heavy thoughts away. He was here to sate his curiosity and nothing more. He would take a peek at what was more than likely going to be another empty room, and then trek _all_ the way back down, and leave. Nice and simple.

By the time Prompto managed to actually reach the landing he was out of breath. Whoever designed this damn tower needed to put more breaks from the bottom to here. Looking around, there was nothing particularly special about the landing itself save for an ornate door. _Don't mind if I do..._

The door handle clicked as Prompto turned it but the door itself refused to budge. Seriously?! Prompto frowned, pressing harder against it. Oh no, he did not climb all the way up here just to be denied like this! Grunting a bit, he shoved his full weight against the door before making a startled noise as it suddenly gave way inside.

A loud crash followed Prompto as he stumbled inside, immediately causing a panic over what he could’ve possible broken in this place. Looking down he saw an overturned vase shattered on the floor, leaving water and roses to spill out. Prompto grimaced as he took a hasty step back to avoid getting his shoes wet. Had it been keeping the door from opening…?

He gave the room a proper surveying look and paused. All _around_ him were bouquets of flowers. Numerous different shapes and colors lined the room around him, looking fresh despite the layers of dust Prompto could see resting on their wrappings and casings. Were they here in… celebration? Mourning? Mourning of-

Prompto stilled as he caught sight of the bed, or more importantly, the man lying in the bed. The air in the room felt stuffy all of sudden, thick to parse through and hard to swallow down. ‘Love at first sight’ was a cliche told to children to keep their imagination and hearts open to the world, but Prompto was no longer a child. Yet... there was certainly a flutter of _something_ caged in his chest at the sight of the sleeping form before him.

Prompto took an uneasy step closer to the bed. A story of a prince locked in an eternal sleep… The man - _prince?_ \- didn’t make any acknowledgement as Prompto approached the bed so at the very least he was definitively fast asleep. His dark clothes looked expensive and of higher quality than Prompto had ever owned, sunlight glinting off a gold hairpiece entwined in his hair.

Prompto swallowed, running a hand through his hair in an attempt to ground himself. How… wrong was it to kiss someone while they were unconscious? Did it help the situation if it was caused by magic or did that make it worse? Prompto bit his lip. As much as his moral compass was telling him to scram his body felt rooted to the floor. He couldn’t just turn and leave the most beautiful man he’d ever seen - comatose state or not.

Prompto rubbed at his face, trying to get his common sense back in order. Since when was he charmed with such ease, and to such an extent? Words that didn’t even sound like his own whispered in his mind, urging him forward towards the bed. He glanced around the room, at all the flowers that were blooming when they should be dead, thriving for a man who probably should have long since died as well. Magic…

Prompto had heard of gods watching over those in need - if folktales were true and a real prince was before him, was someone else pushing him towards this? Prompto gritted his teeth and steeled himself. Fine, if something - be it a deity or his own lack of dignity - was so insistent on him trying this out, he would. Who was he to deny the unknown? Just… give it a moment. Or two. Maybe three? Okay actually, maybe he _should_ just leave.

Prompto moved towards the door but he jumped as it slammed shut. An icy chill ran up his spine, almost as if a warning, and he slinked back to the sleeping man’s bedside. Fine, fine, he got it - no backing out of this now.

Prompto leaned over the soft sheets, propping himself to hover over the man’s face. His breathing was even and quiet and hard to hear over the sound of blood pounding in Prompto’s ears. Dark, unruly hair framed the man’s face, and his lips were... He lifted a hand to brush against the man’s cheek, skin soft and warm to the touch. Look, there was no shame in doing this if there really was a curse, right? This was totally… totally just for the curse…

Prompto felt a weight against his back, urging him forward as his lips brushed against the man's. The weight disappeared at the contact and Prompto jerked back from him. He brought a hand to his lips and cleared his throat, trying to save face for no one but himself. Whatever naive hope that had begun to bubble in his chest that he could possibly be someone to lift a curse evaporated as the man’s eyes stayed shut.

Oh well, it was foolish to think so anyway. A small part of him even felt relieved - what would he even do if the man actually opened his eyes? Prompto shook his head, looking back down at the bed and noticing how blue the man’s irises were. How would he explain how exactly Prompto woke him up- _oh no wait a minute._

Prompto scrambled back away from the bed, breaking off the new eye contact in favor of stumbling to the floor. _No way._  There was no conceivable way that he had broken _any_ kind of spell or charm or whatever had happened to the man. Yet, with a stretch of his arms, the originally sleeping man ( _prince?_ ) sat up. He rubbed at the back of his neck as his eyes closed, mumbling something to himself that Prompto couldn’t catch.

Okay. Okay, Prompto could do this. By do this of course he meant _getting the hell out of here_. It wasn’t like Prompto was eloquent with his words on a _good_ day, how was he supposed to explain this to a prince that was meant to be fake? Hey glad you woke up, sorry for kissing you? Fair trade?

Prompto tried to get back on his feet without making a sound, eyeing the open window to the room. This tower wasn’t _that_ tall right? There were vines and everything wrapped around it anyway - he could climb down, yeah? Keeping one eye on the prince, who was currently yawning where he sat, Prompto inched closer to the windowsill.

“Did Gentiana maintain these flowers this whole time…?” the prince mumbled, leaning over to pluck at one of the roses at his bedside.

Prompto threw a leg outside the window, testing the weight of a vine wrapped underneath. Oh yeah, that would totally hold him. Not a problem. By the time he had gotten his other leg out and was trying to balance, that was when the prince finally looked over at him.

Immediately his face was lit up in panic. “Hey- wait a minute! Where do you think you’re going?”

Prompto started a half-thought out sentence before feeling the vine begin to give way underneath him. He let out an undignified yelp as he felt himself begin to fall, nails scratching at the cobblestone to no avail. He tried to prepare himself for the hard hit to the ground but his descent stopped as fast as it started. Prompto gave a wary glance up to see the prince gripping tight to his hand, scowling a bit.

“Seriously, I just woke up and you’re making me work out? You could've at least given me a few more minutes,” he grumbled. He helped pull Prompto up high enough to where he could at least grip at the windowsill by himself. “Jeez, were you really gonna leave without even receiving a thank you before you go?”

Prompto gave him a nervous smile. Well, he at least didn’t seem _angry_ , which set most of his anxiety to rest. “Oh, uh…” He gestured to his current position. “I guess I could… hang around for a bit?”

The prince paused before letting out a small laugh. He turned his face away but Prompto could still see a smile gracing his face. “Perhaps I should’ve let you disappear if those are the best jokes you got.” The prince cleared his throat. “I’m Prince Noctis - I’m guessing you’re the one who managed to break that curse?”

Prompto gave a slight nod of his head. “Yep. Uh… I’m Prompto.”

Prince Noctis flashed him another slight smile, adjusting to lean against the wall as he looked at him. “Nice to meet you, Prompto. Now, do you actually want to climb back inside, or should I get busy leaving?”

Prompto let his smile grow a bit more warm. Alright, so perhaps his infatuation wasn’t just _all_ magic… He could stay for a while longer.


End file.
